Tested the New & Improved Version of the Letus35XL today on the Canon XL-H1 today briefly...

Wow.

There is considerably Less Light Loss than the previous version
and it is Much Sharper.
It is about an inch longer than it was before (so still managable for run and gun) because...
Because it has it's own FOCUS CONTROL...Meaning you can focus precisely on the Ground Glass...(don't worry, it's not easy to adjust, so where you put it, it seems to be locked in) but somehow this gives you the ability to precisely tune the focus
It also still has it's own iris contol as well. but the new lens on the back of the adapter has much more glass.

I am not sure what new Optics Quyen is using, but they are amazing! The whole thing feels like a more solid and professional product. It is quite a substantial improvement !

I am just starting to upload the tests I did this afternoon, obviously, though short, they are large files :
http://www.realm.cc/upload/benton/

*NOTE: (CHRIS - I will upload files to DVinfo as soon as I am able...but the upload is taking awhile, apologies)

There are many Letus clips up there, but
The New clips are called L35_v2_(...and the name of the custom preset(s) I was testing)
most custom presets are to be found in the preset libraries on this forum

The files are all 24f .m2t files which can be played with VLC Media Player
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Feedback and requests are always welcome

J

I am also using the new LetusXL Enhanced and as I posted in an earlier post, it is a big improvement (I had the earlier version). Although I am only using on the XL2, I am really pleased with the ability to control back focus. Finally I can achieve a sharp focus, something the previous version lacked. Nice work Quyen!

I also have the new Letus35 XL Enhanced. I'm using it on an XL2. I was not a big Fan of the first Version of the Letus35 XL but I have to say that Quyen has dramatically improved the performance of the Adapter in the new unit.

My issues with the original unit were:

1) Soft Focus - the New unit is much sharper. It produces really nice images.

2) Light Loss - the new unit is much improved in this area also. I shot some images in the shade on a sunny day at F4 with the relay closed down to F2.8
This would not have been possible in available light with the original unit.

3) DOF too Shallow due to Light Loss. Because there was so much light loss on the original unit most shots required between an F1.4 - F2.0 to produce results in shade on a sunny day. This created a DOF that was so shallow most moving objects would lose focus very easily. This is no longer a problem with the new unit.

My only complaint with the new unit is that it's a little loose where the relay lens is glued into the adapter. This could just be an issue with the unit I received.

Quyen - is there a way you can recommend for me to secure this a little tighter? What kind of glue did you use?

Also want to say how much I appreciate Quyen's hard work on improving this adapter's performance. He has made me a happy customer. IMO this product is easily worth the $900 he is asking for it.

I'll post some footage once I get some time to capture and upload it.

Please Do !
I am amazed at how good the HD footage is !

Any chance we can get smaller files, not HD res, maybe SD files, it's just for us people with slower Pcs.

SD Footage from Canon XL 2 - shot with Letus 35 XL Enhanced.

http://homepage.mac.com/seenosun/SeeNoSunImages/iMovieTheater19.html

Tucker that's Beautiful !

That's no color correction? So color gain must be boosted all the way up then?
Looks nice.

These are the settings I used for the new Letus35 XL Enhanced footage:
24P (2:3)
1/48th Shutter
-3db Gain

Camera Preset:
Gamma - Cine
Knee - Low
Black - Press
Color Matrix - Cine
Color Gain +4
Color phase 1 toward red
R Gain +1
G Gain 0
B Gain +1
Sharpen -1
Coring 0
Set up Level -4
Master Ped -4
NR - Off

Tucker that was seriously impressive.

I've just been shooting a project where I notice that I pump up the Gain for the adapter and when I put the stock lens back on I need to unPump it a bit

Tucker that was seriously impressive.

The credit goes out to Quyen. I'm amazed by the Letus35 XL Enhanced. It is a great product. I strongly recommend this adapter.

uh wait.... I will take credit for the model. I did marry her!

:-P

Tucker:

As you may have seen on other posts, I also have moved from the LetusXL Filp to the new enhanced version and really like the improvements. I am going to try you presets, but would you mind explaining why you chose the settings you did? I am curious because I really like the look and always want to know the rationale. Thanks!

I've just been shooting a project where I notice that I pump up the Gain for the adapter and when I put the stock lens back on I need to unPump it a bit

Whoops Sorry - I mean COLOR Gain has to be pumped for the Adapter...
When matching footage with the stock lens...
The inverse is also true:
match the stock lense by turning the Gain up to 3 and the sharpness down

Tucker:

As you may have seen on other posts, I also have moved from the LetusXL Filp to the new enhanced version and really like the improvements. I am going to try you presets, but would you mind explaining why you chose the settings you did? I am curious because I really like the look and always want to know the rationale. Thanks!

My main goal was to create a look that had the saturated color of film but still held onto the grays and realistic flesh tones. Mostly the method I used was trial and error. Nothing to the rational, I just trusted my eye. When I saw something I liked I kept it or tweaked a little for fine tuning. The preset was something I had been using on the 20x lens but the Letus XL Flip was the final piece of the puzzle.

Edit to add: i also did a custom white balance in the shade using the siding of my white house. It gave it a slightly warmer look than the Daylight WB on the XL.

John,

Yours is among the most detailed footage I've seen from any adapter-camera combo. (Its an exciting day for me as I just received my XLH1this afternoon, a few minutes after I sent my check off to Quyen for the L-XL-V2 he's building me).

I noticed on your footage a very subtle static grain...or perhaps its more of a random pattern usually in the diffuse highlights of the image (the white shirt in particular). What's your take on it?...are we seeing the ground glass? (doesn't make sense as it should be moving) or the sensor itself...?

Barry

Thanks,
People have mentioned it and I am not sure I see it - but I am not available to look at it right now...so I will have to let you know...
Congratualtions on a great combo

John, I just viewed your stuff again...I would describe it as a static, mottled..almost a parchment paper-like effect. You'll see it mostly when the camera goes out of focus...at first I thought it might be my monitor...but when I move the window around this frozen pattern moves with it.

It's subtle...but I'm just curious whether its the camera or the adapter...I remember some fixed patterning on my gl2 and xl2 in some situations, although it usually had a more grid like appearance...this looks more random and cloudy...

Barry

I put up a longer clip of the Letus35 XL V2 sample footage I shot.

http://65.36.225.68/theater_redirect.htm

Beautiful, Tucker
wow!